Cleat for athletic shoes.



G. L. PIERCE.

GLEAT FOR ATHLETIC SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3, 1911.

Patented 001;. 15, 1912.

In vcntor:

Atty

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cu.,w,\smNuTON, n. c.

GEORGE L. PIERCE, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

CLEAT FOR ATHLETIC SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 3, 1911.

Patented0ct.15,1912. Serial No. 642,048.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. PIERCE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Cleats for AthleticShoes, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention is an improvement in cleats for athletic shoes andhas for its object the production of a cleat which does not pick up clayand dirt to handicap the player by the added weight and especially tohandicap him by clogging'the cleat so that its calks cannot fully enterthe ground to give them perfect hold against slipping. In the drawingswhich show my improvement applied to a baseball cleat, Figure 1 shows atoe cleat provided with my invention on a baseball shoe, and Fig. 2 is avertical section partly in elevation on the line 22 in Fig. 1 looking inthe direction of the arrows.

I will now describe the devices of the drawings, reserving it to theclaims to point out the novel features and to define the scope of theinvention, it being understood that the claim will be given the duerange of equivalents to which they are entitled in view of the art.

Although the drawings show my i1nprovement applied only to a toe cleatnevertheless it will be understood that the invention is equallyapplicable to and maybe used in precisely the same manner in connectionwith a heel cleat.

1 designates the toe portion of a shoe.

2 is an open metal frame, in this particular case triangular in shape,constituting the base of the cleat. The rivets 3 secure the base of thecleat flat against the bottom of the sole of the shoe.

4: designates prongs or spikes or, in general, ground-entering parts orcalks which project downwardly from the frame at about right anglesthereto.

5 is a rubber piece whose outline is such that it fills the hollow spaceor opening in. the frame 2.

6 is a flange projecting beyond the outline of the rubber piece, beingthe overhanging edges of a piece of canvas or other suitable materialvulcanized to the top of the rubber piece 5. This flange is clampedbetween the frame 2 and the sole of the shoe for the purpose of holdingthe rubber piece 5 in its described position within the opening of theframe. The thickness of the rubber piece is shown with its outer surfaceflush at the edges with the outer or exposed face of the cleat-frame.

The purpose of'making' the base of the cleat in the form of an openframe is to make the cleat as light in weight as possible. This,however, provides a hollow space which picks up masses of clay, therebymaking the player run on this mass of clay with the result ofcorrespondingly shortening the effective lengths of his calks, not tospeak of the further handicap of the added weight. However, the rubberpiece 5 filling the opening of the frame and having a smooth outersurface prevents the clay both from entering the opening to hold thereinand from clinging to the surface of the base-plate of the cleat which,being for the most part smooth rubber as distinguished from rusty metal,is ideally effective to free itself from the clay and dirt. In short,the improved cleat, as it leaves the ground, does not pick up and carryaway masses of clay but frees itself clean and clear, therebymaintaining a constant lightness in weight and a constantly free andunclogged condition to enter and take perfect hold upon the ground.

In construing the claim, the intention is toinclude as equivalent torubber any material having the property of rubber in freeing itself fromclay.

What I claim is An improved cleat for athletic shoes comprising thecombination of an open metal frame constituting the base of the cleat bywhich it is secured against the shoe, groundentering parts projectingfrom the frame at about right angles to the plane thereof, and a piecefilling the openlng of the frame whereby the base of the cleat isprevented from picking up masses of clay, said piece being secured inplace by a flange thereon which is clamped between the metal frame andthe sole of the shoe.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE L. PIERCE.

Witnesses:

WM. H. BENNETT, EDWIN J. BORTHWIOK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. O.

